We need more chai pe charcha at the White House: Obama

New Delhi: US President Barack Obama yesterday made a special mention of ‘chai pe charcha’, a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet theme to connect with voters during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Tea-ing off: Modi pours tea for Obama during their talks at Hyderabad House in Delhi

Modi and Obama went for a brief walk at the sprawling Hyderabad House lawns before settling in a special enclosure, where the two leaders continued one-on-one talks over tea, reflecting increasing bonhomie between the two leaders. In a special gesture, Modi poured tea for his guest and handing it to him in a white cup.

“Prime Minister Modi, thank you for hosting me, including our ‘chai pe charcha’. We need more of those in the White House. But even as this visit is rich with symbolism, we made substantive progress,” Obama said, during his joint media interaction with Prime Minister Modi.

Potus goes local

“Namaste. Mera pyaar bhara namaskar. (My greetings with affection),” said the visiting US president while addressing the media after he held summit-level talks with PM Modi. He ended with “Chale saath saath (Let’s walk together).”